GAZIANTEP, Turkey — The battle launched May 31 to liberate the city of Manbij in northern Syria has progressed at an accelerated pace. The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) led by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) achieved noticeable progress against the Islamic State (IS) on the ground in the span of a few short weeks, aided by support from international coalition warplanes and the participation of US military consultants. These forces were thus able to liberate all of Manbij’s countryside, its western gate, silos, grain mills and the Assadiyeh neighborhood that is considered the gate to Manbij, barely one month after operations began.
By June 28, the SDF had gained control of one-third of the city, after the liberation of the traffic police building, southwest Manbij.
